Ron Tanner remembers the camaraderie and esprit de corps he felt about being a Buckeye, and that was before he ever enrolled at Ohio State.

It was in the summer of 2010 when he committed to be a member of the 2011 OSU recruiting class. Now a redshirt-freshman special-teams member and backup safety, Tanner said there was a sense that he had joined a team well before he put on the uniform because members of the 2011 class immediately started communicating.

“That’s huge,” Tanner said. “You want to be with guys you get along with, guys you hang out with, guys you like being around, because that’s who you’ll be with (most of the next four or five years).

“I spend just about every day at the (football) facility … so it’s good to build that bond amongst your class, because the guys you come in with are most of the guys you’ll leave with. That’s definitely a great thing, to build a good bond.”

Most of the committed members of the 2013 OSU recruiting class understand that, said pledge Eli Woodard, a blue-chip cornerback from Voorhees (Eastern), N.J. They have spent time the past several months communicating in various ways, and some became pals while attending elite scouting camps during the summer.

“We text a lot, guys communicate on Twitter, we talk on the phone — we’ve got a real good relationship right now,” Woodard said.

The group includes Jalin Marshall, quarterback/running back from Middletown, Ohio; Cam Burrows, a cornerback from Trotwood(-Madison), Ohio; Jayme Thompson, a safety from Toledo (Central Catholic); Marcus Baugh, a tight end from Riverside (North), Calif.; and Ezekiel Elliott, a running back from St. Louis (Burroughs).

“Going to camps with them, and texting a lot, too, we’ve gotten to know each other real well,” Woodard said.

The camps, such as The Opening in Oregon and the Gridiron Kings in Florida, afforded such opportunities.

“I got to hang out with a lot of Ohio State commits, like Cam, Jayme, Marcus, Eli and Jalin,” Elliott said. “We were hanging out like we were close friends already.

“We got to know each other a lot over the summer, and we’re just ready to do something big when we get to Ohio State, to be a part of something special.”

The pieces are there among the 17 players who have committed to the OSU 2013 class, Woodard believes. The class is ranked No.5 nationally by 247sports.com three months before national letters of intent can be signed.

“We’re all great individual football players, and we have high expectations coming in,” Woodard said. “We know we have a lot to live up to, and we’re going to work hard to live up to it.”

They are coming in at a good time, too, said Tanner, alluding not only to this being the first year under coach Urban Meyer, but also to the 9-0 start that has rekindled OSU football fever, even in this season when the Buckeyes are banned from the postseason due to NCAA transgressions.

“If I was to put my mind back to when I was recruited, I definitely would be excited about the opportunity to be a Buckeye right now,” Tanner said. “A lot of times when you have a transition with a coach, it’s not always a smooth transition as far as results right away. And we’ve been doing pretty well so far, being undefeated and ranked in the top 10, and it looks like we’re doing a great job of proceeding and getting better and better.

“Also, a lot of young players are getting opportunities to play, via special teams or whatever. The coaching staff is looking to play the best players, so it is definitely a great opportunity.”

BILL KURELIC’S HOT 12

Ohio State has 17 commitments to its 2013 class, which could number 23 or more on signing day in February. Here Bucknuts veteran analyst Bill Kurelic’s current “hot 12” of possible add-ons down the stretch: